Quick Links

Conventionally Unconventional

Jaane Tu's plot is been-there-seen-that material. That we offer this criticism but still like the film speaks volumes of the approach in making it with a conventional storyline but a rather unconventional result.

Does anyone think that familiar storyline was not deliberate? In the first five minutes of the film, didn't we hear Maala reiterate EVERYTHING that's been said (and more) about the plot being conventional? It's a film reflecting on itself within itself, and I am surprised at the number of people using this against the film, many (especially bloggers in India, geez, there's some hatred for Aamir and Imran out there) suggesting that it intended to fool the audience but failed. They're missing the point! But that's okay. It can be a rather comfortable state to be in, as I learned after gladly missing the point of No Smoking (2007).

And Naseeruddin Shah's gig in Jaane Tu seems to remind most of Harry Potter. It was borrowed, yes. But...

...Potter released in 1997. Before that, in 1995, a deceased woman talking to her spouse from a portrait had won India over in a TV show titled Hum Paanch. This show was also where most of us first saw Vidya Balan! From this link:

Hum Paanch was the story of a father, Anand Mathur, who always found himself in trouble because of his five daughters...Anand's first wife, who was dead, used to speak to him through her photo in the living room while his second wife, Bina, generally supported her daughters' ideas.

It's a shame that my local theatre decided on Love Story 2050 instead of Jaane Tu... because now I can't comment with authority. ;D

However, the topic of originality is one I'm really interested in. Whatever happened to the idea of the "collective unconcious"? All ideas are built off of something else - which is why I've never been as bothered by Bollywood "plagarism" as other people. Who can own an idea?

What really bothers me is that people constantly use this against the film, justifying the argument and portraying it in a way that makes the reader assume that the plot is the same old, same old, without much that is new at all (which I don't agree with, of course). :o)

It would help if the viewpoints were supplemented with a note on the movie containing the same criticism through dialogue suggesting so!

Disclaimer

This blog is merely a labor of love. It never has and never will contain advertisements of any sort. Copyrights to images, music, and video are owned by the respective content publishers. Copyrights to the text, unless otherwise noted, are owned by me.

I do not blog on behalf of anyone but myself. Please feel free to disagree with my opinions, and read at your own risk. I shall not be held liable for any outcomes, no matter how material or otherwise :) Enjoy!

"See, I wanted to be a director, I became one. Wanted to be an actor, I became one. Wanted to make good pictures, I have done that too. Have money, have everything. But I have nothing left."

Guru Dutt

"The world screams and shouts all kinds of advice and suggestions and actions to be undertaken, but in the end you fight your battles alone. It's just you and your opponent, your issue, your problem."

Amitabh Bachchan

"While we can use cinema as a medium to teach, create awareness, make people think, make people socially more aware, etc., the fact is that cinema's primary purpose is to entertain."